Topic: Verizon

Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it

Summary: The word is out: Verizon is expected to announce an iPhone on its network at a Tuesday news event in New York City. But you'll have to forgive me if I'm not buying it - the rumor, or the phone, for that matter.

By Sam Diaz for Between the Lines | January 8, 2011 -- 23:05 GMT (15:05 PST)

Follow @ZDNet

The word is out: Verizon is expected to announce an iPhone on its network at a Tuesday news event in New York City. But you'll have to forgive me if I'm not buying it - the rumor, or the phone, for that matter.

The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources in a Saturday report, said that Verizon will make the announcement on Tuesday but it was unclear when the devices would be available or whether they would be 4G LTE devices. Certainly, it's strange that Verizon would host an event just days after it had the attention of the entire tech and electronics community at CES, where it unveiled a lineup of 4G products, including Android smartphones.

But it also makes sense that Apple, which never has a presence at CES, would keep this partner hushed at CES so it could release the news on its own terms.

What doesn't make sense is that something as big as an iPhone for Verizon - a coming-soon rumor that has been around for years - would be announced at a Verizon event in New York City, instead of at an Apple event in San Francisco. After all, that's where Steve Jobs and Company have chosen to make all of their previous big-headline news announcements.

Personally, I gave up speculating about - and waiting for - a Verizon iPhone back in May of last year when I finally broke down and bought the Droid Incredible, an Android phone - which I like very much. So while I'm not necessarily buying the rumor, I still would have no plans to buy a Verizon iPhone, either. Certainly, both companies will do well with a Verizon iPhone and there will be plenty of excitement around it - so many people have been waiting for so long.

But, I think I'll just hang on to that Droid Incredible until the 4G HTC Thunderbolt, one of the new devices put into Verizon's spotlight during CES, is released. My iPhone envy ship has already set sail. Apple waited too long and gave Google a chance to win me over.

I have to believe that I'm not the only one.

Topic: Verizon

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33 comments

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Will it affect tracfone?!

Tis a funny thing now that iPhones will be available on the CDMA network. In the past I used to entertain a large amount of glee when an iPhone owner ran around in a carpark , looking for the ever elusive signal that eludes most iPhone owners. My tracfone always burnt my pocket, as I resisted the temptation to run over and offer the cheapest of cheaps, to make the most basic of phone calls. I wonder if this will change, or whether iPhone owners will now start investing in GSM tracfones as a functional backup.

Frangipann
9 January, 2011 02:17

Reply Vote
- RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it
  
  @Sunshinehardy GSM network is 'cheap' for the providers but the customers service experience review are bad 'mostly' for the US carriers. Asians & Europeans don?t seem to have any problems. T-Mobile USA and AT&T have terrible reviews about their network. The future of GSM network in the US is in the hand of customers
  
  ShallRemainNameless
  9 January, 2011 07:37
  
  Reply Vote
  - RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it
    
    @ShallRemainNameless
    I used T-Mobile with the iphones and never had any issues of course, no 3g so I went and got a Galaxy S android phone and it was the biggest mistake I ever made, can't wait to see what Verizon has to offer, I would love to dump Android.
    
    Hasam1991
    10 January, 2011 07:32
    
    Reply Vote
not an apple event

verizon getting the iphone is not an apple event, because it isn't a new product. it is just another carrier for a slightly modified existing product. if apple would make it an apple event it would also send the wrong message: the iphone is important for verizon, not the other way around. though that isn't necessarely true, i think apple still wants to sell that message to the public. and releasing a cdma phone is probably even more important for apple in china, japan, korea and india. so from a global perspective: just another carrier for the iphone, apple most of the time didn't even put a press release out then. but because it is so important in the us i will not be surprised for sjobs to make an appearance.

banned from zdnet
9 January, 2011 04:57

Reply Vote
- RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it
 
 @banned from zdnet Great Point.
 
 ShallRemainNameless
 9 January, 2011 07:32
 
 Reply Vote
 - There aren't that many CDMA networks outside the US
 
 From www dot cdg dot org (cdma org)
 
 314 commercial operators use CDMA
 120 countries/territories available in
 302 commercial CDMA2000 1X networks (Edge equivalent)
 115 commercial 1xEV-DO Rel. 0 networks (G equivalent)
 108 commercial 1xEV-DO Rev. A networks (2G equivalent though CDMA calls it 3G)
 3 commercial EV-DO Rev. B networks (3G equivalent)
 547,220,000 CDMA2000 subscribers (2Q 2010)
 147,814,000 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO subscribers (2Q 2010)
 
 Half of all these subscribers reside in the US and two thirds in North America.
 
 The CDMA market outside the US is irrelevant. The liste can be found at Wikipedia under "List of CDMA2000 operators"
 
 In contrast over 3.5 billion subscribers use GSM, here are some facts from my broadband co za
 
 Network commitments, deployments, launches
 3G/WCDMA: 284 operators launched in 120 countries
 WCDMA has more than 72.8% market share of 390 commercially launched 3G networks worldwide
 94% of commercial WCDMA operators have launched HSPA
 306 HSPA network commitments in 126 countries
 267 3G/HSDPA operators launched in 114 countries
 125 HSDPA networks launched in Europe including in all 27 Member States of the European Union
 196 HSDPA networks have launched 3.6 Mbps (peak) downlink service or higher = over 73% of commercial HSDPA operators, thus establishing the baseline for mobile broadband services
 105 commercial HSDPA networks, i.e. over 39%, support 7.2 Mbps (peak) or higher
 72 HSUPA networks launched in 42 countries, plus another 14 network commitments/deployments
 10 commercial UMTS900 (i.e. WCDMA-HSPA operating at 900 MHz) networks launched, in Europe, APAC and Latin America
 4 HSPA+ networks have launched commercial service (21 Mbps downlink peak)
 At least 25 additional HSPA+ operator commitments worldwide
 31 LTE network operator commitments worldwide
 Up to 12 LTE networks are expected to enter commercial service by end 2010
 441 GSM/EDGE network commitments in 184 countries; 413 networks launched in 177 countries
 Over 80% of commercial GPRS operators globally have committed to EDGE
 172 of 267 commercially launched HSDPA operators (over 64%) also launched EDGE
 
 User Devices
 1,470 HSDPA devices launched by 171 suppliers
 944 devices support 3.6 Mbps peak or higher (excluding notebooks)
 514 devices support 7.2 Mbps peak or higher (excluding notebooks)
 260 HSUPA devices launched (compared to 75 in July 2008) (excl. notebooks)
 1,068 HSPA devices (over 93%) operate in 2100 MHz band (excl. notebooks)
 512 HSPA devices (over 44%) operate in 850 MHz band (excl. notebooks)
 365 tri-band HSPA devices 850/1900/2100 MHz (excl. notebooks)
 130 HSPA devices operate in 900 MHz band (UMTS900) (excl. notebooks)
 212 HSPA phones (including smartphones) incorporate 802.11 WiFi
 248 HSPA phones (including smartphones) incorporate GPS/positioning functionality
 Over 83% of HSDPA devices also support GSM/EDGE
 
 Subscriptions
 3.72 billion GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
 GSM/WCDMA has 89.4% worldwide market share
 Over 329 million WCDMA subs including HSPA worldwide (Q1 09)
 WCDMA now has 8% share of global mobile subscriptions
 103.8 million HSPA subscriptions (Q4 08) included in the WCDMA subs total
 WCDMA has over 72.3% market share of global 3G subscriptions
 APAC has almost 1.6 billion GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
 The BRIC countries ? Brazil, Russia, India, and China together account for over 1.25 billion GSM Subscriptions (Q1 09)
 China and India have a combined total of 907.3 million GSM subs (Q1 09)
 India is estimated to have passed 300 million GSM subs during May 2009
 Western Europe has 576 million GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
 The Western Hemisphere exceeds 554 million GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions
 MEA has 541 million GSM subscribers (Q1 09)
 GSA estimates that there are approaching 2 billion GSM, WCDMA and HSPA subscriptions in commercial HSPA-enabled networks worldwide
 
 Uralbas
 9 January, 2011 23:23
 
 Reply Vote
- Global coverage maps for GSM and CDMA
 
 You can find a Global GSM coverage map at: <a href="http://78.46.55.237/pubs/GSM_WorldPoster2009A.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://78.46.55.237/pubs/GSM_WorldPoster2009A.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://78.46.55.237/pubs/GSM_WorldPoster2009A.pdf</a></a> which is up to date. CDMA has none, because outside the US coverage is non existent. a CDMA phone only has relevance in the US and South Eastern Asia, to a lesser extent, India and Japan, a few million subscribers in South America (Brazil/Argentina/Ecuador). The problem with CDMA is that beyond the US and South Eastern Asia, the numbers have been cut in half since 2007. http://www.cdg.org/worldwide/cdma_world_subscriber.asp Apple has a good market in South Eastern Asia, if they can convince users there that iPhone is better. Deal is, worldwide, advertisement doesn't work as good as it does in the US, as users tend to do a lot more research and value things differently. A higher price, generally means you are paying for brand name, not necessarily a better product. Apple has two markets it can gain money from. They have already covered the GSM market and their numbers, (Like CDMA, worldwide have been in decline, only in the US has Apple been able to keep market share, its a good thing that its the most important market).
 
 Uralbas
 9 January, 2011 23:42
 
 Reply Vote
Welcome Sam Diaz

Android rules.

Dietrich T. Schmitz, ~ Your Linux Advocate
9 January, 2011 04:58

Reply Vote
- Funny thing Dietrich......
  
  @Dietrich T. Schmitz, Your Linux Advocate
  You have already come on these boards and claimed you have a Nokia phone (I don't remember the model). Is Nokia making Android phones now?
  
  MG537-23482538203179240121698430309828
  9 January, 2011 07:26
  
  Reply Vote
  - Fyi
    
    @MG537
    You may not know, Nokia have had their hand in Linux development with the Internet Tablet which is debian based and was in production with a touch interface long before anyone else gave it a thought.
    
    I still own an N800 and N95.
    
    At this juncture I still believe no one engineers phones better than Nokia.
    
    In spite of the technology changes, globally Symbian sales still have the majority market share.
    
    Nokia will remain a significant player in spite of the linux success story that Android is.
    
    Watch for the emergence of Meego in 2011, an Intel and Nokia joint partnership.
    
    Today, I sport a Samsung Galaxy S.
    Tomorrow?, who knows but Nokia is always a serious option.
    
    Dietrich T. Schmitz, ~ Your Linux Advocate
    9 January, 2011 15:16
    
    Reply Vote
- Android rules
  
  @Dietrich T. Schmitz, Your Linux Advocate
  
  Android rules the Google mobile spyware network. Thank heavens there will be some true open source alternatives, like Meego, to provide competition to Apple. And, there remains the best mobile OS, WebOS, to come.
  
  jorjitop
  9 January, 2011 16:09
  
  Reply Vote
  - RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it
    
    @jorjitop
    GALAXY S is the worst phone ever made!! Android is loaded with crapware!
    
    Hasam1991
    10 January, 2011 07:35
    
    Reply Vote
- Untill Verizon gets the Iphone
  
  then what happens to Android? Will Verizon users still pick Android over iPhone now that they [i]finally[/i] have a choice?
  
  You say choice is good, maybe not so much for Android.
  
  AllKnowingAllSeeing
  10 January, 2011 06:22
  
  Reply Vote
- RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it
  
  @Dietrich T. Schmitz, Your Linux Advocate
  Yeah I just love a phone loaded with crapware and a stupid start up screens... Android sucks! I want my iphone back!
  
  Hasam1991
  10 January, 2011 07:34
  
  Reply Vote
My iPhone Ship has also sailed!

For at least two years now I had waited, and waited for the iPhone to be released on Verizon. And in that wait I have seen the Android OS get better, and better, so that the only thing I like the iPhone better for is iTunes. Once Google eclipses Apple on this too, no small task I might add, I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy an iPhone.

matt16777
9 January, 2011 06:45

Reply Vote
RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it

? this is why you?re a opinion blogger or journalist (whichever suit you). You are entitled to your opinion. Sadly you couldn?t provide any fact(s) to support your argument.

ShallRemainNameless
9 January, 2011 07:28

Reply Vote
By the way Sam.....

Maybe your iPhone envy has sailed but to probably the millions of Verizon customers who will be standing in line to get one, that envy will be alive and well.
In any case it will make little difference to those customers if the iPhone envy has sailed with the dozens of bloggers and/or posters on ZDnet.

MG537-23482538203179240121698430309828
9 January, 2011 07:30

Reply Vote
RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it

There are plenty of consumers who'll settle for second best and on Verizon all they could settle for were Android smartphones and cursing themselves for it. They really wanted an iPhone but what could they do. They were like the unfortunate teenager who wanted an iPod and whose parents gave him a Zune instead. Now that Verizon customers have been freed from the shackles of Android, they can finally own the finest smartphone in the world. Verizon is going to pull so many new subscribers and end up having to swap all those current Android smartphone customers to iPhones.

Verizon is going to be very busy and making a ton of money as old and new subscribers line up to get hold of an iPhone. Verizon customers be so happy to get the best games and apps on a mobile device that they won't even remember their old fragDroid smartphones. A new iPhone will be their new year's treat to themselves. There'll be another explosion in iPhone growth and both Apple and Verizon will just sit back and rake in the profits. It's a win-win situation for both Apple and Verizon.

ConstableOdo
9 January, 2011 08:27

Reply Vote
- RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it
  
  @ConstableOdo Excellent point! Just like week a friend of mine decided to get the Motorola PRO because he couldn?t wait for the iPhone.
  I am due for a upgrade in March. Even if Verizon does not get the iPhone, I am not going o settle for any Android phones anytime soon (After playing with my wife android phone, I am not impress. Although the only feature I like is the ability to edit & sync contact and calendar via Gmail).
  In my opinion all the designers/manufacturers are just trying to imitate/duplicate the iPhone model. I believe Apple is going to set the standard in Smartphone and Tablets for the next decade and provide opportunities for the others to compete for the market shares.
  
  ShallRemainNameless
  9 January, 2011 09:18
  
  Reply Vote
- RE: Verizon iPhone at NYC event this week? I'm still not buying it
  
  @ConstableOdo
  I love my Zune HD over my iPod Touch. Do you have a problem with that?
  
  illegaloperation
  9 January, 2011 11:54
  
  Reply Vote